


An Unexpected Rivalry

by CurufinweAtarinke



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 14:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CurufinweAtarinke/pseuds/CurufinweAtarinke
Summary: Anairë is frustrated. Her kids help.





	An Unexpected Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> For alackofghosts!

Turukáno is trying to put the finishing touches on his latest concepts to show his tutor when he hears a door slam. Mother walks past, clearly irate, followed by a more cheerful Irissë.

Irissë makes a beeline to where Turukáno is sat, and leans over to look at his work. “Hey! That looks nice!” she says. “I don’t know anything about architecture, but it sure looks like a building to me!”

Turukáno can’t help but smile at her. “Thanks, I’ve been working on this all week, so it’s nice to know it at least resembles a building. What’s wrong with Mother?”

Irissë blows her fringe out of her face - Turukáno absently notes that it’s getting too long again - and rolls her eyes. “It’s Uncle Fëanáro again.”

“Ah.”

Their mother’s rivalry with Fëanáro is infamous in Tirion, almost as much as Fëanáro’s own rivalry with their father. From what Turukáno knows, it has been like this since they were children. Mother would play with Aunt Eärwen, and sometimes Fëanáro would be invited to play too. However, while Aunt Eärwen can get along with anyone, Mother and Fëanáro have what may be described as clashing personalities.

It isn’t so much that they fight. It’s more that they _don’t_. Mother becomes irate about something Fëanáro has said, or done, and Fëanáro just-

His thoughts are interrupted by Mother returning. “Sorry to ignore you, Turukáno, that _pompous_ -“ She pauses, noting the bright, attentive face of Irissë, who always loves to learn new swears, and swallows whatever insult she was thinking of saying.

“What did he do this time?” Turukáno asks. He notices Irissë’s wavering attention, and passes her a bit of scrap paper and a charcoal stick. She loves to draw, even if she has no particular talent, so Turukáno encourages her every chance he gets.

Mother sighs. “Nothing in particular,” she says, dropping into a seat opposite Turukáno at the table. Irissë noisily moves a chair so that she can sit next to Turukáno, scraping the legs over the floor, then begins drawing busily.

“Just the usual?” Turukáno asks.

“He’s just _insufferable!”_ Mother exclaims. “He knows who I am, I know he does! Yet every time I try to tell him off, he retorts with ‘Sorry, who are you again?’ It’s enough to make me want to explode-“

Findekáno pokes his head through the door to see what the noise is about, then immediately retreats. Turukáno can’t really blame him. Mother has very few things that will set her off, but Fëanáro is one of them.

“-and Eärwen gets along so well with him! She says he’s not too bad when you get to know him, and she thinks we’re just too similar to get along-“

Turukáno nods along. Mother needs to rant occasionally to get it out of her system. It’d be alright if her and Fëanáro could have an actual argument, to let her vent, but he won’t even give her that.

Often people think that Mother is the one shaking her head at Father and Fëanáro’s rivalry, telling Father to stay calm and leave it alone, but anyone who actually knows her knows that she is the one egging Father on in every single fight.

“-and another thing, why is it that when _he_ cut his hair off, everyone was talking about what a daring fashion choice it is, and so _brave_ but when _I_ did it, everyone kept saying ‘Oh but Anairë, your hair was so _lovely_ ’- Oh, thankyou Finno!”

Findekáno has returned, bringing with him a steaming cup of tea. He winks at Turukáno. “You seemed upset, so I thought you might appreciate this,” he says.

Mother takes a deep breath of the warm air coming from the cup and sighs. “Thanks, I do,” she says. “I just wish that he would acknowledge me, for once. I know he’s not a bad person even when I get frustrated but-“ She lets out a groan.

“Here, I drew you this!” announces Irissë, sliding her art across the table.

“It’s lovely!” says Mother, brightly. She pauses, expectantly.

Findekáno decides to fall on the sword this time. “Can you tell me what it is?” he asks. “I’m really feeling stupid today and I need things to be explained.”

Turukáno approves of his diplomacy. Irissë may not be very skilled, but she loves drawing and none of them want to sour that love. Luckily, Irissë is more than happy to explain to her ‘silly big brother’.

“It’s Mama punching Uncle Fëanáro in the face!” she declares. “See? And we’re all there, and so are our cousins, but I only had a black so I couldn’t draw the gold in your hair, Finno, or cousin Maitimo’s red hair.”

“Oh, I see now!” says Findekáno, smiling.

“Thankyou, darling,” Mother says, smiling too. “It’s lovely, just what I needed to cheer me up.”

Irissë grins happily. “I’ll show it to Daddy when he gets home!”

“I’m sure he’ll love it,” says Mother. “Now, let’s go and cut that fringe of yours, you can barely see!”

Irissë immediately dives beneath the table, upsetting Mother’s cup of tea. Findekáno grabs the mug before it can do much damage, but Turukáno still has to act fast before his papers are ruined. Still, they’re all laughing too much to care.

**Author's Note:**

> I adore Fëanor but let’s be real, dude is the rudest man in the world. Canonically slamming doors in peoples’ faces? Rude Boy. Also i love the idea of both Fingolfin and Anaire being equally Rivalish with him.


End file.
